Yes, this voyage is underway and by the time most of you see this e-mail we will be well out to sea. We are planning on floating out the Bocas del Toro channel at 3PM Bocas time (EST) bound for Albuquerque Cays (175 mi.), San Andres (25 mi) and Providencia (60 mi). These are all Colombian islands in the Caribbean . With any luck this will be a 35 to 40 hour sail to Albuquerque . We realized that our long stay in Panama has had us sailing within sight of land ever since we entered Panama on the Pacific coast in December 2009, so we are just a little apprehensive. Is the boat ready? Are we ready? What can possibly go wrong? We’ll see.
We skipped town early this year (April 12) leaving the office busy with last minute returns, but sticking to our plan to work less, sail more. With multiple experiences flying the SFO to Panama route we managed one of our easiest trips. Quick connections, zip through customs, familiar hotel and casual dinner. After an early morning flight from Panama to Bocas we were rewarded with a spectacularly beautiful morning with flat seas, bright sunshine, and a cool breeze. We ate at a small, waterfront café and then took a slow boat ride to the marina to “de-winterize” the boat.
Three days of intermittent work and beach trips had us ready to move to the Bocas anchorage and start provisioning for the trip. The only fly in the ointment was our inability to install the new solar panels. They turned out to be too heavy for the planned installation, but it took a lot of work to get to the point where we realized that. My panels are turning out to be a lot like my friend Keith’s salmon boat: big investment, no return. Keith has the boat in his front yard masquerading as a lawn ornament. My solution was to sell one of the panels and keep “planning” for the other.
Our final night at Red Frog was a beach barbeque at the “tent resort” with friends. Good food, cold beer, and a pleasant reggae band made for a suitable send off from our home away from home. From now until early June we will be sailing to a series of small cays, ocean reefs, uninhabited islands, and larger islands with small towns. We will carry most of our food and beverage, provisioning with fresh items when available. The beer bill was staggering, but we should be able to manage almost two months afloat without starving to death.
Very hopefully you will be hearing more about this trip soon.
Tom & Andrea
If you are following on Google Earth the first half of the trip looks like this: First stop Albuquerque Cays 12° 9.986'N, 81° 50.569'W then San Andres 12° 34.706'N, 81° 41.526'W, Isla Providencia 13° 22.790'N, 81° 22.439'W, Low Cay 13° 31.142'N, 81° 20.054'W, Quito Sueno Bank 14° 18.691'N, 81° 12.790'W, and then 160 miles to Vivarillos 15° 50.010'N, 83° 18.270'W
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